Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a flat opening bell on Friday as investors look ahead to data, including the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge.
The S&P 500 futures fell 4 points or 0.15% to 2,915.50 as of 6:51 AM ET (10:51 GMT) while Dow futures lost 49 points, or 0.19%, to 26,424.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 15 points, or 0.20%, to 7,641.75.
Personal spending for August comes out at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), along with the August core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. The PCE index is a key data point that the Fed uses to get a sense of inflation.
Meanwhile the Chicago PMI is released at 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT) and at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT), the University of Michigan’s final measure of September consumer sentiment is expected.
Luxury car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slumped in premarket trading after news that its CEO Elon Musk is being sued. The company was down 11.23%.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision is suing Musk for securities fraud, Bloomberg reported. The charges could bar Musk from serving as an officer of the company.
Meanwhile Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) fell 0.75%, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) dipped 0.23% and semiconductor Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) decreased 1.04%.
Elsewhere, medical marijuana company Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) gained 8.10%.
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 181 points or 1.46% while in France the CAC 40 was down 44 points or 0.80% and in London the FTSE 100 increased 40 points or 0.54%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 lost 42 points or 1.24% while Spain’s IBEX 35 slumped 159 points or 1.67%.
In commodities, gold futures inched up 0.08% to $1,188.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures were flat at $72.12 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.26% to 94.86.